FBI Director: Encryption a #39;Technical Failure #39;
FBI Director: Encryption a #39;Technical Failure #39;

By: Tyler Morning Telegraph

Link:
FBI Director: Encryption a 'Technical Failure' - Video

Summary: Apple's and Google's encryption plans have not gone down well with US law enforcement, and the agency's director says the companies are leading us down a dark path.

FBI Director James Comey believes that in a "post-Snowden" world, the pendulum has swung too far and unchecked encryption could lead us all to a "dark, dark place" where criminals walk free.

Speaking at an event at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., Comey said that public misconceptions over the data collected by the US government and technological capabilities of agencies such as the NSA have encouraged heightened encryption but the consequences could be dire.

The FBI chief, who has been in his post just over a year, said that "the law hasn't kept pace with technology, and this disconnect has created a significant public safety problem." In particular, "Going Dark" worries law enforcement the most the spectre of facing black spots in surveillance, and not being able to gather or access evidence related to suspected criminals.

"We have the legal authority to intercept and access communications and information pursuant to court order, but we often lack the technical ability to do so," Comey admitted.

Current law governing the interception of telecommunications data and records requires broadband and network providers to build interception capabilities into their networks, under the terms of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). However, this law was brought in 20 years ago and now technology has outstripped this legislation, as new communication technologies are not necessarily covered by the act.

According to the FBI Director, "if the challenges of real-time interception threaten to leave us in the dark, encryption threatens to lead all of us to a very dark place." Comey commented:

Encryption is nothing new. But the challenge to law enforcement and national security officials is markedly worse, with recent default encryption settings and encrypted devices and networks all designed to increase security and privacy.

Encryption isn't just a technical feature; it's a marketing pitch. But it will have very serious consequences for law enforcement and national security agencies at all levels.

The remarks were made in reference to Google and Apple, both of which have pledged to encrypt their mobile devices by default. Apple has recently added two-factor authentication to iCloud following celebrity photo leaks, and in iOS 8, the encryption keys are given to the customer. On the heels of Apple's announcement, Google said this level of encryption will also be enabled in the next version of Android.

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FBI Director: Mobile encryption could lead us to 'very dark place'

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The US Government has imposed a $750,000 fine on an Intel subsidiary for exporting encryption to China, Russia, Israel and other countries

Wind River Systems was fined for exporting products that incorporated encryption to foreign governments and to organisations on the US government restricted list. The controversial move means the US Department of Commerce appears to be coming down heavily against the export of encryption even in cases where no export to sworn enemies of the US (Iran, Cuba and North Korea etc.) is involved.

The Intel subsidiary was fined for falling to get Department of Commerce licenses for a modest piece of business, valued at under $3m. As such the fine represents a slap on the wrist, but it's still a clear signal that priorities are changing.

Previously self-reported cases of crypto export used to be handled by a warning only. Multinational commercial law firm Goodwin Procter warned its clients to treat what happened to Wind River as the new normal.

We believe this to be the first penalty BIS has ever issued for the unlicensed export of encryption software that did not also involve comprehensively sanctioned countries (e.g., Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan or Syria). This suggests a fundamental change in BISs treatment of violations of the encryption regulations.

Historically, BIS has resolved voluntarily disclosed violations of the encryption regulations with a warning letter but no material consequence, and has shown itself unlikely to pursue such violations that were not disclosed. This fine dramatically increases the compliance stakes for software companies a message that BIS seemed intent upon making in its announcement.

Senior FBI and US government law officers have repeatedly complained over recent weeks about plans by Apple and Google to incorporate enhanced security into smartphones. Now, as Techdirt notes, the conflict between government regulation and the tech industry is moving onto the renal original turf of the first crypto wars of the late 90s - the export of strong encryption.

Strong cryptography was classified as a weapon and subject to export controls back in the 90s. This approach fell into disfavour for several good reasons that are even more relevant today than they were 20 years ago.

Firstly cryptography is essentially applied mathematics and the knowledge is already out there. Secondly decent cryptography is a fundamental component of any computing system that aspires to be secure.

Originally posted here:
US government fines Intel's Wind River over crypto exports